Tumbleweed is Back! The sound of the cattle rolling over the hills into Sock Monkey Ranch was unmistakable. That sound meant that Tumbleweed was back! I rushed from the porch of the ranch house to the corrals just as the herd topped the hill. Monkeys all over the ranch stopped what they were doing and watched as Cletus Dean Baker led the drive. Everyone at Sock Monkey Ranch knew Cletus. He was a ramblin' man. That's how he got his nickname Tumbleweed. Cletus never lets his hat hang on the same nail too long and there's certainly no danger of moss growin' under his feet. The Sock Monkey Ranch cowboys have spent many a starry night around the camp fire listening to Tumbleweed tell stories of the trail. Some say he tells tall tales, some say he spins yarns and some say he's just the biggest liar that ever saddled a horse, but it doesn't matter. Nobody really cares if the stories are true cause Cletus Dean Baker is a darn good story teller! When Tumbleweed tells a story, each cowboy lives it with him...stories about wild animal wrestlin', outlaw gun fights, and real adventure...like the one about his trip to England to sell beef stock and beaver pelts, which included teachin' the Queen to rope a calf! Dusty threw open the pen gates and Tumbleweed drove the cattle into the corral amid a cloud dust and the hoots and hollars of the ranch hands. He then rode over to the water trough, removed the bit from his paint pony's mouth allowing the horse to drink and beat the dust off his clothes with his hat. Tumbleweed looked around at the faces of his old friends and said "What's a monkey gotta do to get a drink around here?" I threw my arms around his scruffy old neck and gave him a big hug. "Uncle Cletus, you old rascal, welcome back to Sock Monkey Ranch!" "It's good to be back, little darlin', but I can only stay for a few days." the old codger said. Yep, that's my Uncle Tumbleweed! <<<<< PREV DIARY ENTRY NEXT DIARY ENTRY >>>>> BACK TO DIARY INDEX